Non-profit Rescue Service Finds New Home For Mistreated Animals

Dallas, a once-abused Doberman pinscher, features in one of the happy endings from Pet Rescue Inc., a non-profit adoption service for homeless and mistreated dogs and cats.

About two years ago, Dallas had been abandoned inside a vacant home for about a month, said Pet Rescue volunteer Monica French, of Hollywood.

When the dog finally broke out of the home, she weighed 18 pounds and was sick from swallowing whole chicken bones, French said.

These days, Dallas weighs 60 pounds and is quite happy and healthy, said French, who adopted the dog.

No one else adopted her, French said, because Dallas has a mangled leg that did not heal properly after a car accident.

In addition to Dallas, Pet Rescue has placed about 2,000 dogs and cats in the last two years, said Gardnar Mulloy, vice president of the organization that was formed in 1982.

But until recently, finding a suitable place to shelter the animals had been a problem, he said.

Last week, the dogs and cats moved into their new home - a three-bedroom house with a fenced-in backyard at 3440 NW 191st St., in an unincorporated area of Dade County, just south of the Broward County line.

``It`s a step up for the dogs and for us, too,`` said Jan Harvey of Hollywood, who is secretary-treasurer of Pet Rescue Inc.

Those interested in adopting an animal or volunteering to help the organization may call 922-0102 in Broward County. The organization requests a donation, usually between $30 and $100, when adopting an animal, Mulloy said.